Waiting in lines is something virtually all travelers seek to avoid. Waiting in lines, however, has become common when checking-in for most modes of mass transit, whether on a cruise, a railroad excursion, or an airplane flight. Passengers wait in lines for check-in, that is, to identify themselves to security personnel, gate agents, flight attendants, customer service representatives or sales representatives of the carrier. After identification, the customer service representative may issue a boarding pass and allow the passenger to proceed to boarding if certain requirements are met. These requirements may include confirmation that payment has been made for the trip, that a reservation exists or a seat is available for the passenger, and that the passenger has identified himself or herself to the extent required by the carrier or by applicable rules and regulations of a government at the point of departure or the point of destination. These requirements are not exhaustive, and there may be other requirements, such as a minimum age for the passenger, a requirement that the passenger not be accompanied by pets, and the like.
The easiest way for a carrier, such as an airline, a cruise company, or other common or mass carrier to meet the requirements for embarking passengers is to arrange them into a line, and check them in, one by one. This method of processing is straightforward, because a small number of passenger representatives can check passengers in one-by-one, and check each required item sequentially: passenger name, reservation, payment received, seat availability, passenger ID, and so on. As each passenger checks in, the seating chart or manifest fills in, and check-in proceeds until all passengers are processed or the conveyance is filled, whether the conveyance is a ship, a train, a bus, an airplane, or other common carrier.
What is needed is an automated method for checking passengers into a conveyance for transit to a destination. An automated method would potentially require fewer passenger representatives, and could be faster if the passengers could board without interfacing individually with customer service representatives. The automated method should require a minimum of coordination between carrier personnel and port authority or airport authority personnel. The method should be computer based, both for speed of operation and retention of records for referral.